Florida ex-doctor tricked man into thinking he had cancer, police say

Ronald Wheeler, who lost his license last year, accused of defrauding victim out of more than $46,000.

Gatehouse Media Florida

SARASOTA, Fla. — A Sarasota doctor whose license was revoked last year is accused of defrauding a man by leading him to believe he had prostate cancer, the Sarasota Police Department reports.

According to police, beginning in May 2016, Ronald Evan Wheeler, 71, convinced the victim, who lives in Kansas, that the man had an aggressive prostate cancer and that Wheeler was the only person who could cure it. He made this diagnosis without performing a tissue biopsy, which is required for a proper diagnosis, according to the Florida Board of Medicine.

Wheeler told the victim he needed to have a prostate procedure and sent him to a colleague in Connecticut after doctors in the victim’s home state refused to perform the procedure without a biopsy. After he had the procedure the Connecticut doctor told the victim that his biopsy showed no sign of cancer. Wheeler said the other doctor missed the cancer.

The victim sent Wheeler $46,500 to pay for a procedure that would supposedly cure his cancer, but after Wheeler delayed the procedure for months, the victim asked for his money back, and it was refunded. In late 2016, Wheeler told the victim that the procedure was back on schedule, and the man again sent Wheeler $46,500. Wheeler continued to stall for weeks.

The man then consulted his personal doctor, who told him to stop seeing Wheeler. The victim asked for his money back, but Wheeler stopped communicating with him.

In April 2017, Wheeler lost his medical license, but the victim only learned this from another Sarasota doctor in June.

Another biopsy showed the victim to be cancer free.

Wheeler, who is charged with scheme to defraud, was arrested Monday after he turned himself in at the Sarasota County jail. He was released on $50,000 bail. He was previously arrested in July and accused of practicing medicine without a license.